Fresh Blackberry Pie

This time of year, there's just not much better than a Fresh Blackberry Pie loaded with ripe, sweet, plump blackberries. I look forward to it every year. And for reasons that have mostly to do navigating what always seems to be a busy summer and a short blackberry season more years than not I don't make it.
But this year - the stars aligned and there's fresh blackberry pie! Hurray!!! Now the only problem is that one pie will probably not be enough... Oh well, it's super easy to make and I got extra berries. :) So what's the beauty of this pie? 

1) The only thing you bake is the crust. 2) The berries aren't baked so they don't have that cloying gummy sweet aspect most blackberry pies do. 3)Those luscious berries are held together with a nice light sweet binding that comes together with the berries and the crispness of the sweet crust for a heady taste of summer on your fork. 

Feeling inspired? Here's the recipe, it'll be done and chilling in less than 45 minutes:

Sweet Pie Crust:

Makes one 9 inch crust  

1 cup  flour 1/2 cup  margarine 1/4 cup  powdered sugar 1/4 cup  walnuts, chopped

 

Mix crust and pat into a pie pan. Do not turn over edges of pan. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes, then cool. Fresh Berry Pie:

1 Sweet Pie Crust 3 Tbs  cornstarch 1 cup  sugar 1 cup  water 2 Tbs  corn syrup, light 3 Tbs  black cherry jello, regular (not sugarfree) 4 cups  blackberries, fresh

Cook until thick cornstarch, sugar, water. Add cornsyrup and jello. Cool to luke warm. Place berries on bottom of pie plate on crust. Pour 1/2 of jello mixture over. Place remainder of berries in the pie pan. Pour remainder of jello mixture over the top of berries. Refridgerate 4 hours or overnight.  You can substitute strawberries and strawberry jello or whatever berry/fruit you'd like by pairing it with the appropriate jello flavor.

Great Grandma Dena's Apple Crisp

I love apples. There I said it. :) I love them plain and raw, and I especially love them in desserts. Perhaps the easiest and most reliable apple dessert I have is an Apple Crisp from my Great Grandma Dena. It's the perfect balance of butter, sugar, and cinnamon to top any bunch of apples - anytime, especially in the fall but when you find yourself on a hot August night with a bunch of apples that haven't lived up to your eating-raw expectations and absolutely no chocolate in the house - it's the perfect solution.

Here's the recipe in case you find yourself in the same pickle.





Great Grandma Dena's Apple Crisp

4-6 cups  apples, sliced 1 Tbs  lemon juice 1/4 cup  white flour 1/4 cup  wheat flour 1 cup  rolled oats 1/2 cup  brown sugar 1 tbsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp 1/3 cup  salt butter, melted

Place apples in a greased 13x9 shallow pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes until nicely browned.

Servings: 6